Numerous maintenance machines are available which either sweep or scrub a floor surface or which simultaneously sweep and scrub a surface in one operation. As used herein, the terms "surface", "floor surface" "maintained surface" and the like will be used to designate or represent those surfaces which require maintenance, such as the floors of buildings (e.g. warehouses), as well as the surfaces of outdoor facilities (e.g. streets, sidewalks, and parking lots). These floor maintenance machines may be either riding units or walk-behind units. Typically, a maintenance machine has a body supported on wheels which are propelled along the floor surface by a motor. A variety of cylindrical brushes may be employed as well as disc brushes. It is to be recognized that cylindrical brushes, rotating about a horizontal axis, have the ability to lift or impart vertical motion to the debris thereby assisting the debris into the hopper. Disc brushes on the other hand rotate on a vertical axis with little vertical motion. Disc brushes are very effective for scrubbing purposes but do not tend to sweep or load debris as effectively as cylindrical brushes. Generally, a sweeping machine will include a hopper into which debris is swept by the brushes and subsequently dumped when desired. A scrubbing machine will include a solution tank and mechanism for applying the solution to the floor surface.
Despite the extensiveness of the prior art, certain problems continue with the various types of maintenance machines. For example, if a scrubbing machine is used to scrub a floor surface, for obvious reasons a sweeping machine should be used on the surface prior to the scrubbing of the surface. This, however, entails additional labor and time which often proves a significant expense. Scrubbing machines generally use squeegees to pick up the scrubbing solution. Often times there occurs undesirable squeegee streaking or fouling when debris which was not swept up is caught along or under the bottom edge of the squeegee. After the sweeping operation, additional debris may accummulate on the floor by various means and cause squeegee streaking during the scrubbing action. Again, added time and expense result when the machine is not as efficient as it might be. Another problem with some machines, especially combination sweeping-scrubbing machines, is the inability of the operator to visually check the operating elements, i.e. the brushes, to ensure that they are properly positioned and not jammed or otherwise malfunctioning. Illustrative of prior art maintenance machines are: the sweeping machine described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,837,157 (Van Der Lely) issued Sept. 24, 1974; a floor scrubber illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,701,177 (Meyer, et al.) issued Oct. 31, 1972; and a combination scrubbing and sweeping apparatus described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,041,567 (Burgoon) issued Aug. 16, 1977 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,009,500 (Ashton) issued Mar. 1, 1977.